As reported‚ the Uniparty voted for the $95 billion forever war bill. The bill funds both sides of the war with aid to Gaza/Hamas. It’s now up to the House to vote it down. Speaker Johnson already said it’s dead on arrival. “National security begins at our own border. America deserves better than the Senate’s […] The post Senate War Bill Is Dead on Arrival in the House appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Maybe John Cornyn (R-TX) is stupid; it’s hard to say.  Texas Scoreboard’s Michael Quinn Sullivan wrote on X‚ “While Texans slept‚ @JohnCornyn sent $95 billion to help other countries with their border problems. Question: when was the last time Cornyn stayed up all night fighting for our border?” Attorney General Ken Paxton responded to Sullivan: […] The post WOW‚ Just WOW John Cornyn‚ from Texas No Less appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Prominent Democrats in Congress are defending President Joe Biden as concerns about his age and mental fitness reach a fever pitch during his re-election run. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told CNN on Monday that she has worked with Biden — who is the oldest person to be president at 81 and would be 86 at the end of a second term — for a “long time” and warned anyone who “would think that they’re at some advantage because of his age‚ thinks that at their peril because he’s very sharp.” “Age is an objective fact. As I say‚ it’s all relative. He’s younger than I am‚” Pelosi‚ who is 83‚ said. “So what do I have to say about his age?” Pelosi touted Biden’s experience and “vision” while dismissing his gaffes as a “slip of the tongue here or there.” Biden “has what he needs mentally and what he has in his heart empathetically for the American people‚” Pelosi added. NEW: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended President Biden's mental acuity‚ saying‚ "He's very sharp." pic.twitter.com/WMibUizkaZ — Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) February 13‚ 2024 Fresh questions about Biden’s ability to lead effectively were spurred by the release last week of a report by special counsel Robert Hur that criticized Biden’s handling of classified documents. Although Hur did not recommend charges‚ the report said Biden exhibited memory problems that likely would preclude a jury from convicting him. Biden responded to Hur’s findings in an impromptu press conference during which he insisted that his memory is “fine” and then mixed up world leaders. In the days leading up to the report’s unveiling‚ Biden made headlines for talking about discussions with European heads of state who had died by the time he said the conversations took place. "I talk to President Biden‚ you know‚ regularly. … His mental acuity is great‚ it's fine‚ it's as good as it's been over the years." — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) rejects concerns about Biden's memory after the special counsel's classified documents report pic.twitter.com/AQiztW0EN6 — The Recount (@therecount) February 13‚ 2024 Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)‚ who is 73‚ told reporters that he speaks to Biden “regularly‚” usually several times a week‚ and insisted the president’s “mental acuity is great‚ it’s fine‚ it’s as good as it’s been over the years‚” dating back three decades. He also claimed “right-wing propaganda” about Biden’s mental acuity being in decline “is wrong.” While polls do not reflect as much concern about the age of former President Donald Trump‚ the 77-year-old GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race‚ Schumer said Biden is “going to win the election because he has a great record‚ because more and more Americans are seeing that record‚ because the economy is improving‚ and because a large number of Americans — including Republicans — fear a Donald Trump presidency for the future of our democracy.”

Sportscaster Bob Costas chimed in regarding the trans controversy in sports‚ saying‚ “We can’t throw common sense out the window.” Costas appeared on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” alongside Atlantic staff writer Caitlin Flanagan. Maher spoke of the lawsuit filed by transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas against World Aquatics so Thomas could compete in women’s swimming at the Summer Olympics. He asked whether permitting trans-identifying athletes to compete against women was fair. “Without getting too deep into this‚ people may not realize this‚ the individual federations that govern these sports make up their own rules‚” Costas answered. “So World Aquatics may have different rules than FIFA or the Track and Field Association. So I understand that when it comes to Olympic boxing‚ that federation will allow trans women to compete against biological women‚ at birth biological women. That seems crazy.” “You don’t want to be called — it’s not transphobic to say ‘Let’s inject some common sense here‚’” he continued. “A lot of this is murky. We know that some people who use this as an issue actually are hostile towards trans people‚ or people who after carefully considered decision at a certain point in life‚ decide that they’ll be happier and closer to their true selves. I think any sensitive person is aligned with that. But — Sugar Ray Leonard didn’t fight Mike Tyson. They were contemporaries. Sugar Ray was a welterweight‚ Mike was a heavyweight‚ alright? If someday the best player in the WNBA can play in the NBA‚ everybody would applaud. But if the worst guy at the end of the bench on the worst team in the NBA went to the WNBA and averaged 40 points a game‚ everybody knows that’s bulls***.” “What’s the answer for the trans athlete? What’s the answer? A separate division?” Maher pressed. “Well‚ I don’t think you want just trans athletes competing against other trans athletes; they’re going to have to codify the rules that I’m not prepared to say exactly what those rules would entail but they’ll have to codify them so you don’t have a hodge-podge‚” Costas replied. “You know these kind of extreme cases‚ and I hate that we have to talk about them so much because it makes it [like] we have to say things that are cruel or hurtful to some people but you know‚ women’s and girls’ sports‚ they weren’t created as separate from men’s and boys’ because of some weird gendered thing like they have to wear pink‚ and they have to wear blue‚ they’re that way because of the profound sex differences between the sexes‚” Flanagan chimed in. “That’s the reason. You don’t hear about any trans male athletes on a D1 basketball team… it’s the trans women who seem to be using a natural advantage that comes from sex-linked traits‚ you know‚ we women- we can’t compete.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “But it might not be‚ at some point down the road‚ if it’s codified‚ and if you take the transition hormones and balance that out‚ and maybe that happens before puberty or shortly after‚ because even if you begin that hormone therapy‚ you retain some of the advantages that generally go with being a man‚ greater lung capacity‚ greater strength‚ etc.‚ etc.‚” Costas stated. “So they’re going to have to codify it. … We don’t want to be cruel or punitive toward someone who is trying to deal with a circumstance‚ but at the same time‚ we can’t throw common sense out the window.” Bill Maher asks Bob Costas what is the best answer regarding trans competing in sports. Maher asks Costas a simple question: Should trans compete in a separate division? Bob Costas: "I don't think you want trans athletes competing against other trans athletes"Caitlin Flanagan:… pic.twitter.com/tBJkgcL3fH — Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) February 10‚ 2024

“Facts‚” the rap collaboration between Canadian recording artist Tom MacDonald and Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro‚ topped the charts this week as the best-selling rap song‚ per Billboard. The single peaked at number two last week but now sits atop the charts with other current best-sellers‚ including “Hiss” by Megan Thee Stallion‚ “Lovin On Me” by Jack Harlow‚ “Lil Boo Thang” by Paul Russell‚ and “Paint the Town Red” by Doja Cat‚ which are all in the top five. Rap artist Nicki Minaj is holding onto the next three spots with her songs “FTCU‚” “Big Foot‚” and “Everybody.” Billboard was one of the few mainstream outlets to comment on the massive success of the single‚ which features lyrics that take aim at the establishment and legacy media. “I don’t care if I offend you/I was put here to upset you‚” the chorus says in part. “You can cry and you can scream‚ you can riot in the streets/You defunded the police‚ now there’s no one to protect you. I hope I offend you.” Even with some of the more lighthearted moments‚ such as Shapiro celebrating his rap star status and mentioning his “classical violin lessons‚” both he and MacDonald agree that the song has cultural significance. “In our song‚ in the pre-chorus‚ we talked about not promoting guns‚ not promoting drugs‚ we talked about not turning people’s sons into thugs and their daughters into h**s‚” MacDonald told Shapiro during an appearance on “The Ben Shapiro Show.”  “We sort of spoke out against what the status quo in hip-hop is‚ and for some reason we’re treated — we’re living in some sort of upside-down‚ backwards freak show — and it just seems like the most destructive material [is promoted].” “Hip-hop is full of a lot of destructive material; the promotion of violence‚ the romanticizing of mental health and prescription drugs recreationally — it seems like those things tend to get the most mainstream attention and then anything that speaks out against that‚ especially in our case‚ has been suppressed‚” he went on. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP Shapiro followed up by comparing the words of Megan Thee Stallion’s song “Hiss” to “Facts.”  “The most offensive lines [from ‘Facts’] are things like‚ ‘there are only two genders‚ boys and girls‚’ and ‘where did all the American flags go?’‚” Shapiro said. “That’s the ‘offensive’ stuff.” “If we’re gonna make sure the kids don’t see damaging material‚ we got to stop Tom MacDonald‚” he joked. “They really do not want us to hit number one on the Billboard charts‚ obviously.” But now they are doing exactly that. Amanda Prestigiacomo contributed to this report.

Actor Andrew Keegan recently addressed rumors that he started a cult in California‚ insisting that he was just “getting people together” in Los Angeles’ Venice neighborhood. The 45-year-old celebrity is best known for appearing on television shows including “Trinkets‚” “Moesha‚” “Party of Five” and “7th Heaven” as well as starring in films such as “10 Things I Hate About You” (1999)‚ “The Broken Hearts Club” (2000) and “O” (2001). Keegan appeared on the “Pod Meets World” podcast this week and discussed rumors that he had previously started a cult.  “You mean when I woke up one day and I was anointed a cult leader?” he said while laughing‚ going on to talk about how he moved to Venice Beach and “got immersed in the culture and the community.” “There was this interesting group of hippie types‚ if you will‚ in Venice. I’m sure if you went on the west side‚ there’s definitely a lot of spirituality‚” he said. “I was connected with some folks and we had this opportunity. This old Hare Krishna Temple‚ it was sitting there empty and we were like‚ ‘Why don’t we get some people together and let’s open this place up?’” The group was previously part of the Occupy Wall Street movement and wanted to “do some positive things for the community.” They named their movement Full Circle‚ per Variety. “Looking back‚ it was insane. I was putting down tens of thousands of dollars‚ but we opened it up and spent three years and really did build an amazing friend group‚” Keegan continued. “We went through something really significant from 2014 to 2017.” The actor went on to explain how the cult rumors began after a Vice reporter put out an article entitled‚ “One of the Stars of ’10 Things I Hate About You’ Started a Religion.” The interviewer described meeting a group member named Third Eye‚ who was allegedly part of the “inner circle” of “enlightened” members. Third Eye said Keegan was the group’s leader and had the “ultimate say on all things.” “I probably should have had a little bit more media training at the time‚” the actor said during the podcast interview. “They just really created a very interesting‚ colorful story and put it together… we really just got together and did a Sunday thing. We did almost 1‚000 events in three years and it was actually really hard. It was really beneficial to a lot of people‚ I still hear about it now‚ where people are like‚ ‘That was such a great time.’” Keegan insisted that his group was “the opposite of what you would imagine.” “There was no doctrine. We were just getting people together. ‘The Co-Creator’s Handbook’ was the handbook we used… For all intents and purposes‚ it was a really cool community center for a bunch of people in Venice for a few years.” Podcast host Danielle Fishel suggested that what Keegan described “sounds like a group of people at Burning Man more than a group of people at [the notorious cult] Heaven’s Gate.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “But ‘cult leader’ kind of leans unto the Heaven’s Gate‚” Keegan replied. “Maybe we should have come up with a different name. I thought Full Circle was pretty good‚ you know‚ what goes around comes around. I don’t know.” He added‚ “It wasn’t something with such a specific agenda at the time. It just evolved from a group of people. We had thousands of people come through over the years and just a ton of events and dinner parties. There was actually a podcast I heard recently where they were talking about it and trying to figure it out. At the end‚ they kind of landed on‚ it seems like a cool place to hang out — and that’s what it was.”